Category Archives: Journalism

In mid-August I spent two days at the Menell Media Exchange Conference in Johannesburg. The meeting, organised by Duke University, aims “to create and support a sustainable and robust media community in South Africa and beyond, through programs, fellowships and conferences”.

This year’s event was around the theme of Truth & Trust and is well-documented in stories, videos and podcasts by student journalists covering the event (Friday and Saturday), and I am not going to attempt to duplicate their excellent coverage. Rather – and somewhat belatedly – here is a set of my impressions, thoughts and observations. Continue reading

When I was a full-time journalist, I kept an eye on news and views about my industry – and did more of that as the years wore on and it became apparent that my industry was in Big Trouble.

Now that I am a freelancer and am able have a bit more of a flexible approach to how I use my working hours, I have a bunch of feeds I use to keep an eye on things, with a particular eye to any bright ideas about how to get journalism out of its Big Trouble.

After a while, there’s a sameness to much of what I find: journalists in the States doing Trump-gazing, techy types proposing new data-driven models, lots of hand-wringing about fake news and lots and lots about how Facebook and Google have eaten our lunch (and breakfast and supper too).Continue reading

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that an editor in possession of a new website (or a newspaper) must be in want of a redesign.
The Jane Austen phrasing was irresistible, but this is one of the true certainties of journalism: when a publication gets a new editor, he or she will want it to look different.
When I was a print journalist I live through three different redesigns. And in my time in online journalism, I think there were four. Of course, I may have repressed the memory of some, so there may have been more. And we’re not talking changing a masthead here, we’re talking making everything new from the ground up.
These occasional fits of rebranding entail a lot of work for production staff. And they usually make readers very cross, until everyone gets used to it all and life continues as normal. Continue reading

The recent furore surrounding the publication of a hoax blog post at Huffington Post SA has had me thinking – about hate speech (which I wrote about here), and about the process by which decisions are made about publication or non-publication of a particular piece of writing.
In years of experience at IOL, I had more unsolicited pieces of writing cross my email inbox than I care to think about now. Over time, I learned how to make fast choices about whether I wanted to use the content or not.
I thought it might be useful to write down that mental process, for the benefit of younger people wondering how this is done. I’ll take you through my own personal checklist (note – this was never a formalised policy at IOL, and I no longer work there and can’t comment on how things might now be done at that website).
The steps below relate to online publishing, rather than print. And there are factors in the process that would probably shock print journalists of the old school (especially the focus on “hits”). But I want to paint the picture as it happens in the real world.

South African journalists (and perhaps some bemused bystanders) have been consumed for the last week or so by a chain of events centred on the country’s instance of the Huffington Post.

In brief, this is what happened: Huff Post SA published a piece saying white men should be disenfranchised. This duly went viral. Then things got sticky. It transpired the piece had been written as a hoax by a white man trying to make a point about the way in which journalists publish things that confirm their own biases (at least that is my understanding). In the fall-out, that man has lost his job, the editor of the Huffington Post has resigned and many, many opinion pieces have been written.

Last year, I wrote a column declaring my passion for journalism.Over the last week, I’ve had a Facebook message and then email exchange that I think might be worth sharing.

So why, when in response I had a Facebook message from a young freelancer asking for advice on how to get into mainstream journalism, did my heart sink a little?

In that column, I noted that the media is in the process of cataclysmic change. I hesitate to recommend it as a career path for that reason. But of course, I understand the pull of the craft. So I gathered myself together and gave the best advice I could. And thought it might be worth sharing here. Continue reading

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I still remember the lesson on a green Mac at IOL many years ago like it was yesterday. What was to follow was a great career in online, print and broadcast media because I stood on the shoulders of a giant called Renee. I hope you create more of us in your new journey...

Mthunzi Mbatha

Renee was an instrumental part of my journey into the world of journalism and copy editing. She has pretty much taught me all I know! She is such a patient teacher and coach. I value her mentorship greatly and am confident that she will ably steer many more up-and-coming writers and editors to achieve great things in their careers. Young aspirant journalists would be very lucky to have Renee as a teacher and colleague.

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Renee is among the most patient, competent trainers I have ever met. She has no qualms over repeatedly - sometimes endlessly - explaining how systems work, and has a thorough knowledge of every system she trains on. Renee has rescued missing articles more times than I care to admit, without scolding. Instead, she uses 'mistakes' to teach more. Her knowledge of the media landscape is, frankly, invaluable. If you want to turn out sentences that grip readers, blurbs that entice, or simply articles that are well crafted, you cannot go wrong with Renee. She also has a keen sense of attention to detail, and an admin ethic that is Super Woman-like when compared to most newsroom staff. I would happily recommend Renee for any training you need in this cut-throat profession.

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Renee Moodie is probably the most patient, helpful trainer I have had in a long, long time.

We have worked in large groups, small groups and on a one-on-one basis, and she never ceases to amaze me with her patience, how tuned in she is to individual needs, her understanding of people and the dynamics of working with difficult and often complex personalities.

Her years of experience in journalism means she is both knowledgeable and meticulous.

Renee's attention to detail and sensitivity to the needs of the people she trains is legendary. I would have no qualms about using her as a trainer.